Actually, i doubt the name Nasi Daun since there is no daun (leaf) to be found.. no comments about the leaf, but this place packs the crowd during lunch.. and if youre late, everything gets sold out..we are talking about l

arge large pots of curry sold till the very last drop..

When asked about this place, the person who first recommended it to me, my boss, describes the feeling of mixing hot curry gravy with rice using your bare hands.. priceless.. Two things rule the stage..first is of course their fried meats (chicken/fish) and second, it goes awesomely well with the hot curry and ladies finger.. blend everything in and you have a perfect rice dish..simple and satisfaction guaranteed..

Oh, btw, 'Jalan Tepi Sungai' and by Sungai, i mean the Klang river..and you have the nice iconic Golden mosque as the backdrop..but then again, the polluted river fizzles out the nice scenery..and occasional smells adds to the ambiance (smirk)...

Would you just look at the crowd...

Well, its been ages since i last went to Sentosa.. I was referring to times probably 15 years ago.. Those were the times where Har Par Villa and Sentosa still ruled the entertainment industry..they were giants...I used to love them both.. fond memories lies here..still remembering entering Singapore with a passport that is attached to my Mom's..and my aunt refusing to buy me ice cream cos its expensive.. Well, Har Par Villa (HPV) rocked with their water raft-tour-into-duno-how-many-layers-of-hell (or was it heaven?)-exhibition that ended with almost vertical waterslide(damn, that was fun)..For Sentosa, Fort Siloso somehow lasted in my memory; mainly images of a jeep ride and sounds of canons..hmm..oh, and then, there was this musical fountain at night which was spectacular..the wait however, was killing..

Years have past and I had the chance both these places again.. No photos of HPV is this article but its sad to see what the place has become..Where are all the rides..why just statues and garden..What happened?

Well, Sentosa on the other hand somehow survived the times..This particular shot i took shows the intensity of the construction and development this place is going through..I think its great since they have Universal Studios here now..this'll boost things up a lil..my visit here just last year (minus universal studios) was still pretty much satisfactory..had tons of rides and enough things to do keep me busy for almost the entire day..Well, Ill be visiting you again Sentosa..this time, I coming for you Universal Studios..See you soon!

I'm dreaming of a Singapore Christmas..

So, these are Christmas 2009 shots that ive taken at Singapore. Nothing much, just hoards and hoards of people..Dang, missed 2010's...but here i come Singapore CNY 2011 and probably wondering, and i still am, whether Singapore has anything to shoot during CNY..

I duno why when i look at these pictures, they remind me of Japan.. its not like ive been there or something but the image i get from this country is that its' full of steel, structure and just plain bright sun.. i wonder if there is any truth.. must've been all those manga/anime that i watch..but in any case, these shots were taken no where near the land of the rising suns.. This is the Singapore Flyer but call it whatever you want - giant wheel observatory, the Eye of Spore..to me its just a gigantic Ferris Wheel located at Raffles Street..and guess what, its among the biggest in the world, towering at 165

The next logical question; did Coconutkun take ride on this thing (if so, where are all the shots?)..or did i just sat there underneath the wheel trying to get upskirt shots.. Well, i miraculously sat on this thing after getting good discounts showing up with my passport.. pretty nice view when at its peak and a decent price to pay for a 30 minute ride.. but at the end of the day, u get a sense of 'tulan'ness finding out that all the pictures you capture from the capsule turns out with a slightly blueish hue with specs of dust and raindrops.. Well, u probably might have guess, it's the tinted glass..

Glorious glorious food... Why do you exist more on islands like Penang and Singapore... and for this time's trip to Spore, this particular seafood restaurant located at the ol' racecoarse @ Turf Club road makes its' way to my list purely because of the experience it creates.. Notice the tens of aquariums, each filled with a different sort of seafood.. Exhilarating as it is, making a choice from such a variety is an arduous task.. The fun part is, you get to stare at the fugly fish looking at you and say 'I'm gonna eat you!'.. Chances are, the only sea creatures able to retaliate such stares are the clams.. The have more eyes and they squirt water at you..

Now now, doesn't this just look like a scene from a visit HK or Singapore advert? Imagine the guy scooping out the fish of your choice with a net, from the aquarium of course..the fish splish splashing all the way and on it goes to weighing machine , then finally the wok..oh, and later on your dining table, into your stomach and the rest i dont want to go any further.. We had lobsters that day and the interesting thing i learnt about lobsters? - its better to go for decent sized ones so that you get more value out of flesh to shell ratio..smaller ones have more shell, hence paying by weight gets you paying for stuff you dont want.. Getting bigger older lobsters on the other hand compromises on the texture of the meat youre getting...

We all love Singapore..I mean, i love Singapore.. and i love it even more during Christmas.. to celebrate this year's Christmas, ive decided to upload last year's photos.. a lame excuse for blog not updated for a year..my gawd pink!~

There is this special thing abt this country that draws me here every year end. Its a very bustling city indeed, but everything seems so organized.. so clean.. so architecturally pleasing?.. and when its Christmas, the city just explodes with color and light.. a place perfect for photography!

But above all that, i like the feeling; amidst busy people, you're not! Its just as if you're time warping or something..Everyone's rushing past you..just me taking my time to walk around..take shots..just me and my cam..

Zenxin organic farm..almost one of the few places i that my jaw dropped when whipped out my camera to take a shot..its not that this place is superb, it's just that my grandma stood up from her wheelchair for the first time just to take this photo..gosh..mustve been the organic aura that surrounds this place..i hope you didnt misread that as orgasmic..

Anyway, i think the name of the place is pretty self explanatory..its an organic farm..Situated in Air Hitam, Johor, this place is the largest Argo-organic farm in Malaysia; which pretty explain the hordes of buses/ tourists it attracts. But honestly speaking, there is nothing much to see here actually. Could it be the season that plants are not fruiting?

So, for those who have never been here, just imagine 100 acres of plantation of all sorts; from local fruits to all kinds of vegetables, beans, tomatoes, you name it..and, if you're planning to go berserk and cover the whole area, i suggest you rent a bicycle..As for the season thingy, i dont think you can pretty much do anything about it since there are hundreds types of plants here, each, of course, having their own 'season'. But there is one thing you can do, come here in the mornings! or die being scorched by the mighty Malaysian Halo..

Fortunately enough for us, the weather was pretty cloudy for us that day..Was pushing my grandma around the place.. showing her all the plants.. and to my amazement, she could recognize, i wouldnt say all but most of em'.. Still recall that there was this part at the herb section where she goes 'This one is good for lowering high blood pressure',.. 'This ones' good for diabetes', the commented..

Here's what you can expect while youre here at Zenxin's..expect vast lands of plantations, a wholesome meal/steamboat be it breakie or lunch down at organic restaurant/cafe can follow after touring the place..they have a fresh produce and organic products for sale down at their store ..and a lil nursery at the corner of the entrance greets you when enter the place..you can get souvenirs, some potted plants to bring home..

Okie, we're done with this..time to write about Spore..wee~

After sunrise we warp straight to sunset..next place on d list actually H.K Rakit; a floating restaurant located somewhere at the end of an oil palm estate near Tanjung Putri Golf resort. Yup, you heard me right..its floating..and its after an oil palm estate.. From the way im describing it, chances are, you might not be able to find it..then again, its pretty straight forward actually once youre there..

A few things are assured though when youre here: you be thrilled at how the whole restaurant wobbles when waves hit it- the whole restaurant is floating anyway hence the name rakit ('raft' in Eng.) (of course, there is a wobbleless section for those not-so-adventerous)..the scenery is soothing.. i wouldn't say splendid, just soothing.. plus points especially when there's sunset as backdrop..and the food? no where can it get any fresher than this..Reason being, this place has its own 'kelong'..kelongs are basically floating man-made enclosures to temporarily rear or breed fish..Catches of the day are hauled into these kelong and kept there..and because the kelong are in the sea itself, the fishes are always fresh..this is of course in comparison with pond/aquarium breed fishes..the dont 'exercise' that much as when they are in the wild, hence the texture of their meat is different..This is highly debatable of course..

Johor is definitely in my travel list whenever it comes to the year end..and so is Singapore..Mum and I are always down south for grandma and Singapore? we're there for Christmas (its August and Im writing about last year's Christmas!?)..So anyway, before we get down to Spore, lets start of with Johor lohh; gotta start somewhere rite..We begin with Desaru, a beach resort located somewhere at the tip of South-East Johor.. my fondest memories (during my uni days) lies here where we were once young and crazy enough to drive here at 3am without prior sleep the day before, just to watch the sunrise.. without any preparation and nothing to do, we ended up playing beach football using coconuts the next half of the morning..and trust me, coconuts make bad substitutes for a soccer ball..

Generally, Desaru beach faces the east and should theoretically produce nice sunrise shots.. Like Teluk Cempedak (in my previous article), beaches facing East here in Malaysia are notoriously known for the havoc they wreck during the monsoon seasons..but there is a calmer, more gentle side when its not..So here, a shot of the sunrise from the beach i got from this time's trip..It isnt much, but whats better than having 2 km of beach all to yourself!

The next best thing that you could probably do in Desaru is to visit the local Ostrich farm. I was a bit hesitant to come here in the first place but since everyone wanted to go..oh well...turned out to be, this place is pretty interesting: we fed ostriches, stood on its eggs (this statement sounds wrong man..and with so many ostriches looking at ya', it feels awkward), got to eat its meat and eggs, found out that ostriches can kick ya in the balls real hard, got to see a hatching hatch! and even hitch a ride on its back too..it's fun but there are two things i really pity about the ostriches here though..first, the sand flies here attack em' (esp. their eyes causing infections and blister).. even i myself got attacked but on ma' hands and legs..Second, i bet the ostriches at the farm could smell the burnt smell of ostrich meat exhausting from the restaurant kitchen every single day; What's worse then smelling the smell of your own kind's cooked meat? Must've been traumatic..









reminder: prawns are not part of the ostrich family.

Perhaps one of the most distinctive smells found at one of the corners of Tropicana mall, Damansara is the smell of BEEF broth!! and it can only be at Pho' Hoa a Vietnamese chain restaurant specializing noodle soup..but i think their beef soup must be superior since it is that fragrant smell that brought me in here.. Very unfortunate for that day, i patronized this restaurant with my mom who is an anti-beef individual..but nonetheless was able to try other stuff here, at the very least enough to write up this article.. What i have tried here so far is fair but i foresee myself being back here to try out their beef soup..just the smell is just so..irresistible?

You know, just by showing these pictures of the food..i bet most of you already know where this is..seriously, i have a few friends browsing thru my cam pictures after i shot these and they were like, "You've been to Murni's haven't you"...its like, "WTH!"..so obvious meh? Then, like that no need to intro liaw loh..wahaha..

Just love the food here..Strangely enough, its a mamak restaurant but serves superb lou shi fun which typically is a chinese dish..Other stuff they serve include western dishes and what they are suppose to serve at mamak place; rotis and banana leaf rice..Their humble shop lot is located @ SS2 but their tables extend to almost the whole row of shops and yet, ppl sometimes dont have seats during peaks ie. during mamak time.. Well, if you havent been to Murni's, where have you been all this while?

On the eve of one of the most anticipated football finals- the worldcup- coconut decided to sneak into Teluk Anson for a retreat..Just for the fun of it..The conclusion? yes -im not a football fan and yes - im bored and have nothing to do..and, Teluk Anson, youve been visited!..

So, there are several things i remember clearly about Teluk Intan aka Teluk Anson (I wondered why the name change?)..well anyway, 1) there is this graveyard in front of a church which i sesated into; this was freaky..2) the one and only McD in town is full of chicks at odd hours of the day..and 3) there is practically nothing to do here after 30 minutes of exploring the place with explains 2)..

So here's a shot of the famous landmark of the town at sunrise..pretty loved the dramatic sky except for those little white tents down there set up for the football craze..This is a water tank btw but it's not in service anymore..History has it that this water tank was later converted into a watch tower during the Japanese occupation of Malaya..now, its just a clock tower and an iconic landmark. The special thing about this tower is, its leaning to one side. Hey, we have our own Pisa as well..

So, at the end of the day, what's the verdict? would i come to Teluk Anson again? Come to think of it, yes i would.. but not in the near future ya. I think Teluk Intan is a real nice place..it's peaceful..it's quiet..their mornings here are fantastic..can u imagine a night's drive to this place..prolly starting at 5am..a slow drive reaching here at 7am, just in time for a lil sunshine..a lil stop at the local chee cheong fun making factory (they are famous for this here you know)..some awesome breakfast at some old style kopitiam..just a lil walk at the morning market..boy it feels great..

a lil nat. geo shot of the local chee cheong fun making factory..awesome stuff they have here.. and it defines a whole new level of making chee cheong fun..Typical HK chee cheong fun comes with pork or prawn fillings, drenched with soy sauce, belacan and good to go..this, on the other hand, just comes with dried shrimp and turnip and pickled chilli..sounds err, but it's good..

Now here is one place that’ll get ya bowing (kwai) and ‘lock’ed on for more. Hence the name Kwai Lock. Haha..i just made that up..Technically, the phrase 'Kedai kopi' or coffee house is correct since the place serves almost perfect coffee. But then again, Kwai Lock is also a food court full of lil stalls each selling different stuff. I am actually amazed at how a humble coffee house/food court successfully attracted me to come here twice in my two days visit here in Penang. What intended to be a simple breakie before a visit to the famed Siamese temple nearby turned out to be a way to start your day! So ya, youre right..The restaurant is situated near Jalan Burma, Penang

What a great way to start your day with sufficiently ‘kaw’ coffee.. And coming in numbers we ordered quite a variety of stuff, in which none of them failed our standards. Well, the char kuey tiew wasn’t all that great la but it was just nice; not too oily and well done. Their wan tan mee and chee cheong fun is a must try.. I know, I know these are very common dishes (you can get them anywhere in Msia) but somehow, this place makes them slightly if not very differently..In a way, its unique having said, it tastes delicious too! To describe them in words, their wan tan mee has clear egg sauce (something like the wat tan hor sauce) in addition to typical the blanched egg noodles mixed with black sauce. Something u dont get anywhere. When the dish came, we even thought they sent the wrong dish. The chee cheong fun on the other hand is special in a sense that it looks super simple yet packed with flavor. The secret lies in their special har kou sauce (prawn paste). Just wonderful..sigh..my mouth is watering already.. Other dishes worth mentioning include their banana and yam fritters..these are quite pricey..i remember..and also, their pak cham kai looks great too..but i din have the opportunity to try them..